In an electronic device, such as a portable cellular telephone, there are often a number of elements, such as circuit boards, housing elements, or a detachable battery which are combined to form the device. There is often a need to make a connection between contact elements which may not be adjacent, but on opposite sides of a barrier. For example, it may be required to connect a contact of a detachable, rechargeable battery to a contact of a circuit board which is on the other side of a barrier, such as a housing or another circuit board. Accordingly, a connection must be made through the barrier by way of an aperture in the barrier.
As shown in FIG. 1, a conventional apparatus to make such a connection comprises a first contact beam 10 and a second contact beam 12 coupled to a dividing element 14. Dividing element 14 could be any barrier in the device, such as a circuit board employed in the device or a housing for the device. The contact beams could be coupled, for example, by a screw 16 and a nut 18 through an aperture 19 in dividing element 14. The first contact beam 10 generally includes a connecting portion 20 adapted to receive screw 16. The first contact beam also includes an elbow portion 22 and a contact portion 24 for making contact to an element on one side of dividing element 14. The second contact beam 12 also includes a connecting portion 26 adapted to receive screw 16, and a contact portion 28 for providing a connection to an element on the other side of dividing element 14.
As can be seen from the prior art device shown in FIG. 1, a number of components are required to implement the connection between contact elements above and below dividing element 14. However, such components increase cost, complexity, part count, and manufacturing time. However, it is desirable to reduce cost, number of parts, and complexity in manufacturing.
Accordingly, there is a need for a device to make a connection to contacts on opposite sides of a dividing element.